Manhunt to nab Dhanbad youth for blackmailing girl with MMS

Dhanbad police have launched a manhunt to nab a 23-year-old youth for allegedly blackmailing a girl for sexual favours with an MMS he had made during an intimate moment with her.

The girl had met the youth at a dancing school here where both were honing their skills in modern dance.

Police have lodged an FIR against the youth, identified as Mohammad Altamus, a resident of Bhuli locality here.

Dhanbad deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Amit Kumar confirmed that the girl’s family has lodged a complaint based on which an FIR has been lodged.

“We are started investigations though we are yet to register a case. Raids have been conducted to nab the accused,” the DSP added.

Police sources said that the girl, a resident of Karmiknagar under Saraidhela police station, met the youth at the dancing school and soon their relationship turned romantic.

The youth made an MMS – multi-media service – during one of their intimate moments and since then have been demanding sexual favours from her. According to police, the blackmailing started about a fortnight ago. When she refused to cow down to his indecent proposals, the youth allegedly sent the MMS to the girl’s elder brother.

Unable to bear the harassment, the girl’s family then approached police for help. The girl has already shifted to a relative’s house in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

A family-member of the girl said that the youth had even threatened to upload the MMS on video-sharing sites like YouTube.

“The youth is now threatening us. If the police fail to take prompt action, we will have to leave Dhanbad,” said the family-member.

Police sources said that if found guilty, the youth could face a jail term of up to three years with a fine of Rs five lakh under amended laws aimed to curb the growing menace of obscene MMS.

Last year, the government had amended the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act in India and brought in harsher penalties for obscene MMS, e-mails and video maligning images of women.

The country has been flooded with pornographic clips of unsuspecting women – including couples cosying up in metro coaches – in a new form of gender violence and cyber crime.